The shrine's core was a cavern of ice, its walls pulsing with bell runes that cast a blue glow, like veins of a frozen heart. Qin Mo's breath clouded, the shard in his chest straining against the cold, its heat a fading spark. Yi, Ren, and Lian followed, their steps echoing, the FFD System's warnings sharp in his mind.
[FFD System: Frostflame Balance: Heat 27% / Cold 73%. Scan: Silent Tax enforcer, 50 meters ahead, threat level: Lethal.]
Yi's threads trembled, sensing the air. "The bells—they're calling something alive," she whispered, her voice tight with memory of her burned village.
Ren's daggers glinted, his eyes hard. "My brother faced this. I feel it."
A shadow moved—a Silent Tax enforcer, cloaked in black, face hidden by a bone mask etched with nine bell runes. Its blade glowed blue, frost trailing like smoke. "Shard-bearer," it hissed, voice like a winter gale. "The Tax marks you."
The enforcer struck, blade weaving a net of frost that froze the cavern's air. Qin Mo dodged, Flame Step flickering, the cold siphoning his heat. His blade clashed, sparks mixing with ice, the impact jarring his bones.
[FFD System: Frost blade siphon active. Heat loss: 25%. Balance: Heat 25% / Cold 75%.]
Lian's arrow flew, piercing the enforcer's cloak, but it vanished, reappearing behind Yi, blade aimed at her throat. Ren's daggers intercepted, steel screaming, while Yi's threads lashed out, binding the enforcer's arm. Qin Mo unleashed Frost Grip, icy talons clamping the enforcer's wrist, frost cracking its blade.
The enforcer broke free, its mask pulsing, summoning a frost array. Blue lines snaked across the floor, binding Qin Mo's shard, the bells in his pouch chiming in sync—a leash tightening. He activated Frost Veil, shielding himself, but the cold seeped into his veins, vision blurring.
[FFD System: Binding attempt detected. Resistance: 60%. Balance: Heat 23% / Cold 77%.]
Yi's threads wove a counter-net, disrupting the array, while Lian's arrows struck the mask, cracking it. Ren's daggers followed, slashing the enforcer's chest, revealing a bell-shaped mark burned into its flesh—one of nine.
Qin Mo's blade pierced the mark, the shard devouring a bell fragment from the enforcer's body, its cold flooding him.
[FFD System: Bell fragment acquired. Silent Tax chain: 8/9. Binding risk: 58%.]
The enforcer collapsed, whispering, "The ninth bell wakes the heart."
Yi's face was pale, threads trembling. "My village—they died for these marks."
Ren clenched his daggers. "My brother's alive. He has to be."
Qin Mo steadied himself, the shard's cold overwhelming. "One more fragment. We end this."
The FFD System chimed, urging them deeper.
[FFD System: Silent Tax resonance: 60%. Final fragment: Cavern depths.]
The cavern's runes pulsed, the bells' chime a drumbeat of fate.